Marijuana safety

The Oregon Poison Center at OHSU has seen a significant increase in the number of reported marijuana exposures in the past three years. To help ensure the safety of all Oregonians, the poison center has developed the following safety recommendations around marijuana products:

Keep marijuana products out of the reach of children

In Oregon, the use of marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older.

All marijuana products, medicinal or recreational, should be locked up and kept away from children. This is especially important with marijuana edibles, which are easily mistaken for regular baked goods or candy.

Educate your family about various marijuana products and their effects, even if you do not use them. A friend or neighbor may inadvertently leave their belongings within a child’s reach.

Understand edible marijuana dosage

Marijuana edibles can have a high potency, but may take longer to have an effect – up to 3 hours. To avoid overconsumption, users should take a slow approach and start with small doses.

In Oregon, a single serving of THC – the active ingredient in marijuana – is 5 milligrams. However, much like regular food items, marijuana-infused products may offer multiple servings. Users should carefully read product labels to avoid overconsumption.

The health impacts of marijuana overconsumption vary, and children are likely to be more susceptible to the effects than their adult counterparts. Signs of overuse may range from dry mouth and disorientation to mental health issues, racing heart rates, difficulty breathing or even coma.

If you suspect symptoms of accidental child exposure, or adult overconsumption, immediately contact the Oregon Poison Center at OHSU: 1-800-222-1222.

On 3 different occasions in the last 2 months I have walked past people, on the street, smoking marijuana. Around Christmas, I witnessed 2 people in a vehicle smoking marijuana with their windows down. On one of these occasions I was with my 5 year old daughter. It’s bad enough that in public she can be exposed to cigarette smoke (along with other pollution), but smoke that is also a mind altering drug is unacceptable. If I’ve seen 3 incidents in 6 months, this must be a common occurrence and concerns me as a parent and citizen.

I’m not opposed to the legalization of marijuana, but I frequently hear pot smokers talk about it like it’s more harmless than water (“it’s never caused cancer!”, “no one’s ever died from it!”).

I’m not convinced the State of Oregon has done a good job conveying that marijuana is still an illegal drug under Federal law, illegal to smoke in public, and illegal to consume in a vehicle and is a drug that, like any drug, has side effects and needs to be taken seriously.